Dan's Daily

We’re an Argentine / Kiwi household. Argentina has one of the best football teams in the world, and New Zealand one of the best rugby teams.

Tonight our countries played each other in the Rugby World Cup semi final. Maru and I had a fun week bantering about which team was likely to win. Despite the joking, we already had a “Football / Rugby agreement” in place.

We each support our respective countries in both sports, but the moment one of our teams gets knocked out in a competition, we become a 100% fan of the other country’s team.

I loved cheering for Argentina in last year’s scintillating Football World Cup Final. And after the Kiwi win this evening, Maru and I will be cheering for the boys in black in next week’s Rugby final!

They say you’re a true Londoner when it’s raining and you don’t change your plans.

Despite the rain, I’ve pressed through with plans multiple times this week, and returned home either damp or wet.

After 7 years in this city, I think that either makes me a true Londoner, or just someone who chronically forgets their umbrella.

I’ve tried many times to think my own way out of a problem. It’s possible, but it’s a tough and lonely road.

The journey is almost always easier when altering ask an expert for their opinion.

We don’t need to learn lessons the hard way.

The automatic habit gets done. A good example is brushing your teeth the moment you jump out of bed in the morning.

In contrast, the habit that depends on will power has lower odds of success.

For important habits then, success is less about will power, and more about setting up systems to ensure we never miss the habit in the first place.

Avoiding hard conversations starts a dangerous habit.

Problems can grow bigger. They don’t get solved. It can lead to resentment. And ultimately it can break apart friendships, businesses, and relationships.

It’s hard talking about hard things. But the cost of not doing so is often far greater.

“Take a coat if you are cold. Leave a coat if you don’t need it anymore.”

At a time when our world needs more kindness, it’s nice to small examples of it hidden in plain sight in my local community.

Some days will feel like millimetres, some like inches, some like metres, and some like miles.

Regardless of the distance, remember that progress is progress.

The New Zealand election was today, and the right-leaning National government is poised to form a government via coalition.

In every election cycle, there is always talk of doom and hope. Both sides pointing at the doom ahead if they lose, and the hope ahead if they win.

What I’ve come to love about New Zealand’s politics is the predictable ebb and flow of power between right and left. With our relatively short term of 3 years, each government typically has 1-3 terms in power, before handing the baton back over the other major party.

The metaphor I like to use is like walking a tightrope. Lean too far, for too long, in one direction and you fall off. But it’s the balance between both sides that keep the country on track.

My best managers shared a common trait: they asked great questions.

Their questions get to the heart of an issue; bringing clarity and structure. They avoid the unimportant, and keep the end goal in mind.

In contrast, I’ve noticed how poorer managers jump to conclusions, suggest ideas without adequate context, and how they lack the curiosity and confidence to ask questions.

To improve our own question-asking skills, we should get comfortable increasing our ratio of asking questions to giving answers. And then, over time, continually refine the quality of our questions to get to what matters faster.

Generate a lot of ideas.

Consider each of them.

Play out how each of them could work until you reach their logical conclusion.

And don’t fear the bad ideas; they help pave the way for the good ones.

Not every draft needs to make it to a post.

The more we’re willing to leave a draft on the cutting room floor, the more drafts we’re willing to create, the greater chance we have of finding the message worth publishing.

It’s a game of numbers.

Make more drafts.

A friend invited me to a Zeca Pagodinho concert this evening. Pagodinho is a Brazilian samba legend. I was excited to go, even though I know very little about the genre.

The Barbican theatre was packed to the brim with Brazilian fans; many there to do more singing than listening. The icon, Zeca, knew this too. He shared the stage with his audience; providing the music but letting the crowd do much of the singing.

It’s a surreal feeling being in a room where you know none of the songs, but almost everybody else knows all of them.

It was a treat to watch the icon and the audience do their thing.

The Rugby World Cup has exited out of the pool stages.

The time for razzle-dazzle, fanciful play is over.

As we enter knockout finals, the game turns into a slow grind. Each team moving forward by inches, and being unwilling to give an inch in return.

It’s time for grit, willpower, and back-to-basics tactics.

We’re at the business end.

Ask 10 people for advice and their recommendations almost always end up being in conflict with each other.

Despite having good intentions, some advisors will be wrong.

Triangulating between the group, spotting patterns, discerning what is believable vs. not, and ultimately landing on our own point of view—that’s the work to be done.

We can crowdsource advice, but we can’t outsource the answer.

A good friend recently took me to an independent coffee shop, Kumquat Coffee, in LA.

After every shot of espresso, the barista would take a brush and clean the machine; ensuring no traces of old coffee grounds made it into the next one.

It was a small action, but one that speaks volumes. I’ve never seen a barista in other coffee shops do that—even in the specialty ones.

How we do anything is how we do everything. The small actions count and add up over time.